Liquid container-tool or accessory box for bicycles

ABSTRACT

A bicycle having a simulated gas tank on the top bar thereof between the steering and seat post supports which comprises a bottom tray-like member secured to said top bar for carrying miscellaneous articles such as a bicycle lock, tools, spare bicycle parts, food articles, etc., and a detachable cover for said bottom member which is in the form of a container having a filling opening at the top and a dispensing spout at the lower rear side thereof adapted to contain water, milk, coffee, fruit juice or the like. The combination liquid container-tool or accessory box herein is further characterized in that the bottom tray-like member and the upper liquid container member have nested rim portions and are provided with resilient hook means to facilitate attachment and detachment of the liquid container member to and from the bottom tray-like member which is secured to the top bar of the bicycle. Yet another characterizing feature of this invention is that the dispensing spout is disposed at the left rear side of the liquid container so that, when the bicycle is supported on its kick stand, said dispensing spout will be located at the lowermost portion of the container for dispensing substantially the entire contents thereof without need for removing the same from the bottom tray-like member.

llnited States Patent [191 Davies 1 Dec. 11, 1973 LIQUID CONTAINER-TOOLOR ACCESSORY BOX FOR BICYCLES [76] Inventor: Brian W. Davies, 6200Barton Rd,

North Olmsted, Ohio 44070 [22] Filed: Sept. 28, 1972 [21] Appl. No.:293,015

[52] US. Cl 224/35, 280/289, 220/23 [51] Int. Cl B62j 39/00 [58] Fieldof Search 224/35, 32 R, 36, 224/30 R, 30 A, 32 A, 34; 280/289, 202;220/20, 23

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,051,823 8/1936 Clarke224/35 1,400,967 12/1921 Merkel 224/35 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS29,991 7/1922 Denmark 224/35 Primary Examiner-Robert .1. Spar AssistantExaminer-Kenneth Noland Attorney-Walter Maky [57] ABSTRACT A bicyclehaving a simulated gas tank on the top bar thereof between the steeringand seat post supports which comprises a bottom tray-like member securedto said top bar for carrying miscellaneous articles such as a bicyclelock, tools, spare bicycle parts, food articles, etc., and a detachablecover for said bottom member which is in the form of a container havinga filling opening at the top and a dispensing spout at the lower rearside thereof adapted to contain water, milk, coffee, fruit juice or thelike. The combination liquid container-tool or accessory box herein isfurther characterized in that the bottom tray-like member and the upperliquid container member have nested rim portions and are provided withresilient hook means to facilitate attachment and detachment of theliquid container. member to and from the bottom tray-like member whichis secured to the top bar of the bicycle. Yet another characterizingfeature of this invention is that the dispensing spout is disposed atthe left rear side of the liquid container so that, when the bicycle issupported on its kick stand, said dispensing spout will be located atthe lowermost portion of the container for dispensing substantially theentire contents thereof without need for removing the same from thebottom tray-like member.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 LIQUID CONTAINER-TOOL OR ACCESSORY BOX FORBICYCLES It is a principal object of this invention to provide astreamlined box for attachment to the top bar of a bicycle to simulate agas tank, the box herein comprising a bottom tray-like member attachedto the top bar of the bicycle and a detachable cover member which is inthe form of a liquid container having a filling opening at the top and adispensing spout at the lower rear side thereof, said bottom memberbeing adapted to be used for storing miscellaneous articles including abicycle lock, tools, spare bicycle parts or even articles of food suchas sandwiches, cookies, candy bars, etc., and said cover member beingadapted to contain water or other beverages.

It is another object of this invention to provide a combination liquidcontainer-box for bicycles which may be readily and economicallymanufactured from thermoplastic material with integral snap lockingmeans to enable easy detachment and attachment of the top liquidcontainer member to the bottom tray-like member.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a combinationliquid container-box for bicycles which comprises a bottom tray-likemember and a top liquid container member which when attached to thebottom tray-like member constitutes a cover therefor, said liquidcontainer member having a filling opening at the top thereof and havinga downwardly and rearwardly sloping bottom wall'terminating in adispensing spout at the lower rear side thereof for dispensing of theliquid contents therefrom when the bicycle is in an upright position orwhen the bicycle is supported in a tilted position by its kick stand.

In said annexed drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the upper portion of a bicycle havingthe combination liquid containerbox herein secured to the top bar of thebicycle between the steering and seat posts;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view on enlarged scale as viewed along the line2--2, FIG. '1; v

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-section view taken substantially along theline 3-3, showing how the bottom tray-like member is secured to the topbar of the bicycle and showing the nested rim portions of the bottomtray-like member and the top liquid container member; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary.cross-section views taken substantiallyalong the lines 4-4 and 5-5 of FIG. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawing and as best shown in FIG. I, thebicycle frame 1 is of familiar form including a curved generallyhorizontally extending top bar 2 to which are secured as by welding thesteering post and seat post support members 3 and 4, the steering post 5having bicycle handlebars 6 thereon and the seat post 7 having a bicycleseat 8.

The combination liquid container-tool or accessory box 9 herein is inthe general form of a streamlined gas tank for motor bikes ormotorcycles, said containerbox comprising a bottom tray-like member 10having upstanding sides and formed lengthwise along its bottom with agroove 11 of generally semicircular crosssection to embrace the upperhalf of the top bar 2 when said bottom member 10 is secured to said topbar 2 as by means of bolts 12 and nuts 13 and strap members 14 whichembrace the lower half of the top bar 2, said bolts 12 extending throughholes drilled through the top bar 2. The upper edge of the bottomtray-like member 10 lies in a horizontal plane transversely of thebicycle and is inclined downwardly toward the rear of the bicycle asbest shown in FIG. 1 for a purpose which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds. The front end of the bottom member 10 adjacent thetop edge is formed with a groove 15 and the rear end of the bottommember 10 is integrally formed with a hooklike portion 16.

The top member 17 of the container-box 9 is in the form of a liquidcontainer having a top filling opening 18 closed by the removable cap 19and a dispensing spout 20 at its lower rear side thereof closed by adetachable cap or cork 21 which preferably is retained on the top member17 as by an integral ring and flexible strap 23. As evident, the topmember 17 constitutes a removable cover for the bottom tray-like member10 and has at its front end a bead 24 which is adapted to snap into thegroove 15 and has at its rear end a rib 25 which snaps into the integralhook portion 16 as best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus, the liquidcontainer 17 is detachably retained on the bottom member 10 as shown infull lines in FIG. 1, but may be readily removed as shown by phantomlines in FIG. 1, by springing the hook portion 16 toward the right awayfrom the bead 25 as viewed in FIG. 5. To maintain the container 17 andbottom member 10 in register, the bottom wall of the container 17 isinset as shown so as to nest within the upper rim portion of the bottommember 10.

It is to be noted that even when the bicycle is in a vertical positionthe dispensing spout 20 is in a generally horizontal position ordownwardly inclined position near the lower end of the container 17 sothat substantially the entire contents of the container 17 may bedispensed from the container even without removing the same from thebottom member 10. In fact, when the bicycle is supported in an inclinedposition by its kick stand (not shown) the spout 20 will be furthertilted downwardly so that practically the entire con' tents of thecontainer 17 may easily be dispensed.

The container 17 herein serves as a cover for the bottom tray-likemember 10 and when said container 17 is detached, the bottom member 10may be loaded with articles of any character including a bicycle lock, alength of bicycle chain, tools or even articles of food which areretained therein when the container 17 is snapped back into place.

Since the container 17 may be removed from the bottom member 10 it maybe readily washed in the kitchen sink and filled with water or otherbeverage and taken out and snapped into place on the bottom member 10ready for use or transport.

The liquid container 17 and bottom member 10 may be economically moldedfrom thermoplastic material of any desired color to match or harmonizethe color of the bicycle and will have a smooth and attractive surfaceto simulate the streamline and enameled gas tanks as employed on motorbikes or motorcycles. Moreover, thermoplastic materials have a lowerheat conductivity than metals and hence beverages will remain hot orcold for substantial periods of time. Of course, if superior heat orcold holding properties are desired, the container 17 may be made ofheat insulating double wall construction or of material such as foamedplastic with or without a thermoplastic reinforcing shell.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In combination a bicycle having a top bar extending between thesteering post and seat post supports thereof; a bottom upwardly openingtray-like member located above and secured to the top of said top bar;and a cover member detachably secured to the top of said bottom memberto form a closed compartment in said bottom member; said cover memberbeing in the form of a closed liquid container having an opening fromwhich the contents of said container may be dispensed.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the meeting edges of said membersare inclined downwardly toward the rear of the bicycle; and wherein saidopening is located adjacent the lower rear end of said container toenable dispensing of substantially the entire contents of said containerwhile said container is attached to said bottom member.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said bottom member is formed witha longitudinal groove along its bottom to embrace said top bar thus tomaintain said bottom member in alignment with said top bar.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein the upper rim of said bottommember and the periphery of the bottom wall of said container are nestedtogether to retain them in registry.

1. In combination a bicycle having a top bar extending between thesteering post and seat post supports thereof; a bottom upwardly openingtray-like member located above and secured to the top of said top bar;and a cover member detachably secured to the top of said bottom memberto form a closed compartment in said bottom member; said cover memberbeing in the form of a closed liquid container having an opening fromwhich the contents of said container may be dispensed.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein the meeting edges of said members areinclined downwardly toward the rear of the bicycle; and wherein saidopening is located adjacent the lower rear end of said container toenable dispensing of substantially the entire contents of said containerwhile said container is attached to said bottom member.
 3. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said bottom member is formed with alongitudinal groove along its bottom to embrace said top bar thus tomaintain said bottom member in alignment with said top bar.
 4. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein the upper rim of said bottom member andthe periphery of the bottom wall of said container are nested togetherto retain them in registry.